Recently eight Boy Scouts from Troop 28 (Mobile Area Council) visited DISL as they continued to work toward earning the Oceanography Merit Badge. The scouts had previously participated in an intensive classroom session with Dr. Monty Graham where they learned the basics of oceanography including the properties of seawater (salinity, density, and chemical composition); currents and tides; plate tectonics; ocean basins; the characteristics of waves; and marine food webs.

At DISL the Scouts visited the Technical Support Shop where they learned about many of the tools and equipment used to study the ocean. They had a demonstration on working with tools under limited visibility conditions to help them understand some of the difficulties faced by research SCUBA diving. The boys also visited the Marine Analytical laboratory where they learned about some lab-based chemical measurements from collected samples. At Dr. Sean Power's laboratory they saw comparisons of different sonar systems.

The Scouts went out the R/V E.O. Wilson where they did a CTD cast and watched the real time data as it was collected. They also sorted through a sediment sample to find out what is in the benthic community on Mobile Bay. Finally, the Scouts helped with a plankton tow and collected specimens that they brought back to Dr. Graham's laboratory and examined with a microscope. To cap off their day, the Scouts visited the Estuarium where they enjoyed seeing all the exhibits.

Boy Scout troop members examine what was caught in a trawl in Mobile Bay.